Well, I'm not actually Orthodox sacramentally, so I can't really vote in the poll, but I'm currently being raised in a strict Southern Baptist home (as one would expect from a PK). I've never really been completely satisfied with what the church teaches, and I've been convinced of the reality of Apostolic Succession and the ministerial priesthood since I was about 10 or so. I became interested in Anglicanism, but seeing current trends made me decidedly weary, and the "continuing" groups seemed to be branching further away from the trunk (as I saw it at the time; I'm not advocating branch theory or any similar heresy), so, wearily, I looked to what seemed to be the trunk: Catholicism. The idea that the same church Christ founded existed today, and that Christianity was not some vague continuation of ideas, resonated well with me, but some of the apparent doctrines of that church didn't, most notably the idea of purgatory. I tried to justify it in my mind, but to no avail. At this point, I was also a strongly convicted pacifist, and I was reading this little gem when Orthodoxy first caught my eye:
The Greek Orthodox Church also tends towards pacifism, though it has accepted defensive warfare through most of its history. However, more recently it took a strong stance towards the war in Lebanon and its large community there refused to take up arms during its civil wars. It also supports dialogue with Islam. In 1998 the Third Pre-conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference drew up a text on ‘the contribution of the Orthodox Church to the achievement of peace’ emphasizing respect for the human person and the inseparability of peace from justice. The text states in part: “Orthodoxy condemns war in general, for she regards it as a consequence of the evil and sin in the world.”
For the most part, I assumed, with the majority of my fellow evangelicals, that Orthodox belief was identical to Catholics, but with cooler hats and a Patriarch instead of a Pope. After reading this, my curiosity was sparked, and the more I began to study Orthodox theology, the more I began to love it. The deciding moment for me was reading Kalimaros' "The River of Fire." It was when I realized that God's love was genuinely universal, not somehow conflicting with a twisted sense of "holiness," as I had been taught, is perhaps what continues to draw me to Orthodoxy the most. I have only attended two liturgies in my life, once at the wedding of a family friend, and another time when visiting my sister in Memphis who's decidedly more lenient, but I'm absolutely convinced of the truth of the teachings of Orthodox church, and plan to attend more in the future. In the meantime, my parents insist I go with them to their church, even after I get my Driver's License in six months, and both parishes in my area have service times that conflict with it. It's going to be a long 2.5 years until I turn 18, but I hope to make it out stronger, and ideally better appreciating both Orthodoxy as I work towards Chrismation and Protestantism as I recognize the ways God has worked through some of the evangelicals in my background. I recognize that this post might not be completely within the scope of the thread, but it seemed like as good a place as any to put it.
I would encourage you to contact one of the priest's at a parish near you. Although you cannot attend Liturgy at present, it may be good for you to have someone whom you can ask questions, can guide you in your readings, and can help you deal with your parents.
Just because you can't attend Liturgy doesn't mean you can't have a Spiritual Father!
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